1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The play is in Los Angeles, in September 1987, with a group of Chicano women named Estela and Ana who are sisters, and their mother Carmen. Ana is 18 and about to attend college and is described as a feminist. Estela is 24 and owns a sewing company that her sister and mother work for. Rosali and Pancha are supporting characters who are friends. The dramatic situation includes the fact that Ana is frustrated that she must work long hours at her sister’s sewing company and longs to do instead go to college and write.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
Estela is not a legal immigrant, and so she fears the raids from the immigration officers. She is being sued for not paying out for her sewing machines. She has an order for 100 dresses to be delivered by Friday.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor is that Ana decides to tell us this story, as a writer she is using that a means to convey her thinking. It is a reenactment of what takes place earlier. In Ana’s case, it looks like a brighter day ahead for her people. They have recently become legal, and she hopes that she can attend college soon.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Estela and Carmen’s relationship get better if Carmen stops working under her daughter? Will the characters break out of the environment of constant work and Estela’s problems with the law?
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real Women Ana's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
Ana’s wants against herself is that she wants a completely different life than she has right now. They have sort of captured her in a way. Her dream is to go to college, like where her friends are right now. She sees herself as a captive at her job, working for her demanding sister. She is trapped by her sister and mother who have a different relationship than what she has with them. She seems conflicted by either choosing to support a good life for her sister and make money for her family, or rather go to college and live the life she has dreamed off as a feminist writer. Against society, she is a legal immigrant now but still fears the immigrant raid vans because she has gotten used to doing it before. She must work a job that illegals work only because her sister could get caught. Against fate, she wants life to work out in her favor, but only time will tell as she gets closer to attending college and her sister making more money.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves.
The most theatrical moment in this play is when Estela, who is still not legally allowed to live in the USA yet, sees a van and the women freak out thinking it is a raid van that might capture them and deport them. Even though the other women are legal now, their fear from the past still causes them to act that way. In the end, that van ends up being for something else, but that scene shows the fear instilled in their heads and how they react is quite theatrical.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
One example of images is the book Carmen finds and how the other women respond to it. The book about sex positions is a way for the girls to “bond” over the difference between men and the female only play. When they have the conversation about the taboo stuff, it breaks a barrier between them and allows the family bond to grow. Another example is Estela and the Glitz company when they need the 100 dresses, and she is requested for her immigration papers. Ana does the steam and heat wrong on the dresses and it causes tension with Estela, and Pancha doesn’t want to work in the heat. These two scenes, along with Rosali fainting, gives insight on what the characters really want versus what they have to do as Latina immigrant women.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women.
The themes in this play include immigration, following/breaking the law, female relationships, and politics vs. emotions.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why?
They have an expectation to be a family and help each other out with their problems. Ana ends up developing a certain level of respect for her mom and the women around her. There aren’t any male characters in the play except some who are referred to. To them, what constitutes family is their bonding; even the women not related to Ana are like aunties to her. The point of the play is to build the strength of living and working together as a group of women.
The play is in Los Angeles, in September 1987, with a group of Chicano women named Estela and Ana who are sisters, and their mother Carmen. Ana is 18 and about to attend college and is described as a feminist. Estela is 24 and owns a sewing company that her sister and mother work for. Rosali and Pancha are supporting characters who are friends. The dramatic situation includes the fact that Ana is frustrated that she must work long hours at her sister’s sewing company and longs to do instead go to college and write.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
Estela is not a legal immigrant, and so she fears the raids from the immigration officers. She is being sued for not paying out for her sewing machines. She has an order for 100 dresses to be delivered by Friday.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor is that Ana decides to tell us this story, as a writer she is using that a means to convey her thinking. It is a reenactment of what takes place earlier. In Ana’s case, it looks like a brighter day ahead for her people. They have recently become legal, and she hopes that she can attend college soon.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Estela and Carmen’s relationship get better if Carmen stops working under her daughter? Will the characters break out of the environment of constant work and Estela’s problems with the law?
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real Women Ana's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
Ana’s wants against herself is that she wants a completely different life than she has right now. They have sort of captured her in a way. Her dream is to go to college, like where her friends are right now. She sees herself as a captive at her job, working for her demanding sister. She is trapped by her sister and mother who have a different relationship than what she has with them. She seems conflicted by either choosing to support a good life for her sister and make money for her family, or rather go to college and live the life she has dreamed off as a feminist writer. Against society, she is a legal immigrant now but still fears the immigrant raid vans because she has gotten used to doing it before. She must work a job that illegals work only because her sister could get caught. Against fate, she wants life to work out in her favor, but only time will tell as she gets closer to attending college and her sister making more money.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves.
The most theatrical moment in this play is when Estela, who is still not legally allowed to live in the USA yet, sees a van and the women freak out thinking it is a raid van that might capture them and deport them. Even though the other women are legal now, their fear from the past still causes them to act that way. In the end, that van ends up being for something else, but that scene shows the fear instilled in their heads and how they react is quite theatrical.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
One example of images is the book Carmen finds and how the other women respond to it. The book about sex positions is a way for the girls to “bond” over the difference between men and the female only play. When they have the conversation about the taboo stuff, it breaks a barrier between them and allows the family bond to grow. Another example is Estela and the Glitz company when they need the 100 dresses, and she is requested for her immigration papers. Ana does the steam and heat wrong on the dresses and it causes tension with Estela, and Pancha doesn’t want to work in the heat. These two scenes, along with Rosali fainting, gives insight on what the characters really want versus what they have to do as Latina immigrant women.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women.
The themes in this play include immigration, following/breaking the law, female relationships, and politics vs. emotions.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why?
They have an expectation to be a family and help each other out with their problems. Ana ends up developing a certain level of respect for her mom and the women around her. There aren’t any male characters in the play except some who are referred to. To them, what constitutes family is their bonding; even the women not related to Ana are like aunties to her. The point of the play is to build the strength of living and working together as a group of women.